The present invention is directed to the field of portable ballistic shield systems. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a modular ballistic shield with improved visibility, and reduced through bolts to minimize/eliminate the possibility of impact-induced shrapnel.
The ballistic shields currently available have a number of limitations. First, many utilize fasteners to attach the components together that extend through the components to the face of the shield. Such fasteners represent a weak point in the shield which may permit a bullet to penetrate, defeating the shield. Alternatively, the bolts can themselves become fragments, shrapnel, if you will, on the “protected” side of the shield. Another problem with some shields that employ adhesives to assemble components is that should one of the components become damaged and need replacement, the entire shield must be replaced since disassembly would destroy the otherwise non-damaged components. All of the commercially available shields have limited width view ports which impede the vision of the enforcement officer requiring her/him to move the shield laterally or to rotate her/his body to increase her/his field of view, both of which can expose her/him to the line of fire.
The present invention is directed to a ballistic shield for use in law enforcement, military operations, and crowd control, the shield comprising a first laminated composite section having a first lateral edge, a second lateral edge, a top edge, a bottom edge, a front face and a rear face, the first laminated composite section providing ballistic protection for a torso and legs of a person utilizing said shield; a ballistically protective viewport having a front face, a rear face, a top edge, a bottom edge, a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge, said viewport being attached to said top edge of said first laminated composite section and extending uninterruptedly from said first lateral edge to said second lateral edge of said first section facilitating unobstructed viewing; a second laminated composite section having a first lateral edge, a second lateral edge, a top edge, a bottom edge, a front face and a rear face, the second laminated composite section being attached to a top edge of the ballistically protective viewport extending uninterruptedly from the first lateral edge to the second lateral edge of the second section for protecting the head of the person utilizing the shield.
Most preferably, the bullet-proof viewport is made of polycarbonate and is connected to the first and second laminated composite sections without any fasteners extending through the front faces thereof in the region immediately in line with the user's body. In a first embodiment, the means to attach the viewport to the laminated sections includes a minimal number of through bolts positioned at the outer edges of the sections.
A handle is attached to the rear face of the first section such that no fastener extends through the first section to the front face. The handle includes two downwardly angled end portions to facilitate gripping the handle by either hand. A further feature of the ballistic shield of the present invention is a cutout in each of the first and second lateral edges permitting a user to extend an arm around the respective lateral edge to facilitate aiming a weapon. The contour of the shield may be flat, partially curved, fully curved and combinations thereof. The shield has a structure selected from a group consisting of solid, semi-solid and composite materials and may be constructed of a ballistic material selected from a group consisting of aramid fibers and long-chain polyethylene fibers, ceramics, and combinations thereof.
It is another feature of the present invention where the means interconnecting the first module to the second module and the second module to the third module does so in a manner permitting disassembly of the modules without damaging any of the modules, whereby when one of the modules becomes damaged, it may readily be replaced.
Various other features, advantages and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after a reading of the following specification.